


Love Will Lead You Back

by BuchananScorpioFan



Category: General Hospital
Genre: Extramarital Affairs, F/M, Kidnapping, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-08-04 17:01:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16350611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuchananScorpioFan/pseuds/BuchananScorpioFan
Summary: The last time Robert saw Anna, she was burned beyond recognition in a terrible explosion and thought to have died. Seven years ago. Now he is married to Holly and trying to forget the pain from his first marriage, when suddenly, on what would have been their anniversary, he thinks he's seeing her ghost. What will Robert do when he finds out she is real? AU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**  
  
 _1985_  
  
His boots leave footprints in the snow as he lifts the gate to enter the cemetery. The fresh cut grass where they build the graves for the dead now look as if they covered them in clouds. January is the coldest month in Italty, and the weathered headstone only proves it. He kneels down at her tombstone, his gloved hand wiping the snow away from her name as he lays the red roses down. Holly does not know this part of his life…that she was not his first wife. He loved her in his way but a part of him would never be hers…the part he kept closed off from the rest of the world…the part that would always be Anna’s.   
  
_Seven years…Seven years ago he failed to rescue her from the explosion…an explosion that would reveal her duplicity._ He found her charred remains in the aftermath, though a part of him was always unable to accept that she was really gone. The severity of her burns made it impossible for him to identify her. _Burned beyond recognition is the technical term._ He did not know what was worse…that she had become a traitor or that he loved her in spite of it.   
  
“ _Anna_ ,” he sighed. “ _My Beautiful Annie_.”   
  
He removed his glove and slid his calloused fingers across her name. _Anna Scorpio…Beloved Wife and Friend_. He buried her in secret just as he married her in secret. _Because it was against the rules._ There was one word he made sure was left off her tombstone. _Traitor_. He would not let the city bury her in a forgotten grave where nobody knew the first thing about her. Least of all, her name. _She was somebody to him. She mattered.  
_

A black and white photo of the two of them falls out of his hand and he picks it up. Years have made the image fade but he still keeps it buried in his wallet. _Memories of a love so great that even a new marriage cannot dissolve the painful memories of how he lost her._ “I got another one of your letters Luv,” he whispers.

 

It was just like Anna to send him pieces of the puzzle a little at a time. She must have known that her chances of making it out alive were slim. She wanted him to know the truth. She made sure that in the event of her death, her estate would mail letters to her husband six months apart until the whole puzzle revealed itself in time. _Seven years’ time.  
_  
She was still a puzzle he wished he could spend his life trying to figure out. _He did not have enough time with her. Not nearly enough._  
  
“You were a smokescreen all this time…a distraction meant to take you from me. Never a traitor.”   
  
He now knows who the traitor is…someone he used to trust with his life and hers…the same man who destroyed any chance he had of being happy…when he sent Anna into the lion’s den.   
  
“ _Why,”_ he demands bitterly. “ _Why would Sean set you up to protect his own ass? He let you die with dirt on your hands_ …worse; he let _me_ believe that the woman I loved was the worst kind of traitor… _all_ you were doing was trying to protect me… _every_ time…and you paid with your life… _my life wasn’t worth yours Anna… I am just a shell of who I used to be…going in circles…haunted by the look in your eyes the last time I saw you before all that remained of you was ashes…_ “   
  
He hears the rustle of leaves and out of reflex he turns around…She is standing against the tree, her long knotted dark hair almost disguising her silhouette. She looks at him with those intense, penetrating eyes and he swears it was just as it was seven years ago before the explosion…When she was holding him so tight and asking him to promise that he would never stop loving her no matter what. _I kept my promise luv. I never could stop loving you even when I thought you had betrayed me. Where have you been all this time?  
_  
 _“Anna,”_ he gasps. _“Oh please tell me I’m not seeing things.”_  
  
“ _Robert,” she cries, her delicate fingers caressing his cheek. “Oh God, I thought I would never see you again.”  
  
“I thought you were dead…For seven years, I thought all that was left of you was embers. How are you here Luv?_”  
  
“He wanted me to forget you Robert. For seven years, he tried to break me. Turn me into the perfect robot that he could mold to his will. He could not mold me because I loved you too much. For seven years when he was torturing me, I conjured up the image of your face…even when he tried to erase it from my mind. I am here Robert because I love you…and that love was too strong to kill me. “   
  
_Who Anna? What kind of monster would take you away from me...make me believe that I watched you die right in front of me? Do you have any idea how much I blamed myself?_ At the moment, none of that mattered. _Nothing matters except her. Just her._  
  
Seconds pass as his brain catches up to what he is seeing…finally convincing him that she is not just another black and white photograph he keeps tucked away from another life…that she is real and she is here.   
  
“ _Oh how I missed you,”_ he says, tears slipping from his eyes unrestrained. She runs forward now, jumping into his arms until one of his hands is stroking her hair and the other is holding her lower back. He kisses her hair; her head now nestled in the crook of his neck. S _he is real. She is alive. She is not a figment of his imagination or a long forgotten dream._  
  
Her hands wrap around his neck, her fingers running through his hair as she presses her lips against his. They still feel the same against her own…soft and warm…hot and fiery…Seven years may have separated them and time could not get that back…but as his tongue slips into her mouth and the kiss deepens still further, she is reminded of the fact that his arms are still home to her. Home is not a place she belongs to…Home is Robert Scorpio. _  
  
"Anna,"_ he pants. " _Oh Annie...my Annie."_  
  
There was still something sexy in the way he said her name...it _did_ something to her...tied her up in knots...made her want to do things she hasn't done since high school.   
  
"What is it Robert?" She questions. His hands are shaking as he steps back from her just a little. He is trying to keep a rational head, but does not seem to be doing a very good job of it. _A couple minutes ago, he was kissing her as if he had any right to._ The moment her lips touched his, the world fell away and all that existed was the two of them. _How could he have forgotten in such a short amount of time that he had another wife back home waiting for him? How was he ever going to tell Anna about Holly? How would he tell Holly about Anna?_


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**  
  
Her cold hands close over his larger ones, and she looks into his chaotic blue eyes. There is pain in those eyes. Pain she is sure that he has carried with him since the last time he saw her. There is also love in those eyes and confusion. She used to be able to read every emotion in the intensity of his stare. Now when she looks at him, he looks away, and she wonders why he prefers to hide his shame from her when he has to know that she would forgive him any wrong, real or imagined.  
  
“You’re not free,” she concludes. It is the only explanation she has for Robert’s inability to say the words. He simply does not know how to verbalize what he knows will break her heart.   
  
He looks up at her now, their joined hands now feeling heavier. “I’m sorry Luv, “he admits. "I am _so_ sorry."  
  
 _“Why,_ ” she demands? “ _You are my soulmate Robert…I thought I was yours.”_  
  
 _“I thought you were dead…I thought I’d never see you again.”_  
  
Anna pulls her hand from him regretfully, pain falling down her cheeks, as her knees buckle and she falls upon the snow covered grass. He kneels down next to her, his eyes pleading with her to forgive him for his weakness.   
  
“I didn’t think I would see you either Robert…In all those years when I was gone…I thought for sure that I would _die_ before I could _ever_ get to you again…but _never_ , in all those years, did I _ever_ think I could give my heart to someone else? I am not condemning you Robert…I just want to _understand_.”   
  
He caresses her cheek as he feels tears of remorse fill his eyes…”I do not know what I can tell you to make this okay. _If I knew you were alive…If I even suspected it…Anna, you have to believe me…I would have moved mountains to find you. "_  
  
“And now?”   
  
“Now there are _so_ many things that I need to tell you…and I don’t even know where to Start.”   
  
“You could start with how you feel,” she reasons.   
  
“It’s not that simple Anna. _I love you. I will always love you._ When we first got married all those years ago, I was one hundred percent sure that we would survive until both of us were old and gray…But life happens doesn’t it? Life plays cruel tricks sometimes. Your death was the perfect example. For seven years, I believed that my soulmate was gone forever…I blamed _myself_ for not being able to save you…I blamed _you_ for the choices you made…and then I made every bargain with God that I could. _None of it mattered Anna…you were still gone.”_  
  
“And then you met Holly right?”   
  
“When I met Holly, she was pregnant and alone. Luke Spencer, who happens to be one of my best friends, and the father of her child, supposedly died in an avalanche and I wanted to give that innocent child a name. I wanted to honor Luke’s memory. “   
  
“So you married her because you are an honorable man Robert Scorpio,” she states. It was not a question.   
  
“As it turns out, the baby did not survive and we found out that Luke was actually alive. By that time, we started to have feelings for each other and eventually Luke’s wife Laura turned up alive.”   
  
“So you stayed with her because you loved her.”   
  
“I _do_ love her Anna. I am not going to insult your intelligence by trying to convince you that I do not. I also need you to understand that while I do love her, it is not on the same scale as you. I love you in a way that I will _never_ love anyone else in my entire life. If you hadn’t _died_ …”   
  
“We would still be together…You wouldn’t have married Holly…”   
  
“You have no idea how lost I was without you …It was the worst kind of pain I have ever experienced in my life. There were so many times when I thought I saw you or I could hear your voice…Only when I got close enough to see you, it was not you. Not even close. I would dream about you all the time…I would dream of you dying…”   
  
“Oh Robert,” she cries. “I never wanted that for you. I never wanted anything to hurt you…least of all, me.”   
  
“I don’t blame you anymore Luv…It’s not your fault that you _‘died.’_ I desperately needed someone to blame and it was easier to blame _you_ because you were not around to defend yourself. I did not have anywhere else to put all that anger and sorrow. I lashed out. Eventually though, I had to let it go. It was ruining my life. I could not focus. I was not eating. I was barely even sleeping.”   
  
“So in a way Holly saved you. Is that what you are trying to tell me?”   
  
“She gave me something else to focus on…something that was not rooted in pain. She does not know about you though. Nobody does. After you died, I just could not bring myself to tell anyone that I married an incredible woman that I knew only three days before we wed and now she is dead. Somehow I think people would have thought I was crazy.”   
  
Anna leans her head to rest on Robert’s shoulder as she wraps her arms around his waist. “It _is_ kind of a crazy story isn’t it? We fell in love in two days, got married on the third and not even one year after, you believed that I died. It’s tragic really.”   
  
“Anna…”   
  
“It’s okay Robert. You are an incredible man and _any_ woman would be lucky to have you…It’s just that _you_ are my home Robert…you always have been…I’m not even sure where to go now that I know that _I_ am not _your_ home anymore.”   
  
“I didn’t say that Anna…”   
  
“No but you didn’t say I was either…I’m not the only woman you love anymore and I respect that. _No one_ is blaming you for moving on with your life, least of all, me. What I cannot do though is be with you when I would never be certain if you are choosing me because you cannot live without me or because you think it is the right thing to do. You are an honorable man Robert Scorpio…You will _always_ try to do the right thing… except I do not want to be your chance at redemption…I want to be the woman that sets your heart on fire…I want to be _everything_ to you. Until you can look me in the eyes and promise me that I am the _only_ woman you want than I think you should go.”   
  
He does not fight her; He knows that every word she says is true. She holds his face in her hands one more time…Forcing him to look into her eyes.   
  
“I survived because of _you_ … _I love you more than anything in the world_ … _More than anyone else ever could...Don’t think I’m giving up on you_ …I am only giving you a chance to figure out what will make you happy. I believe with all my heart that it is _me._ ”   
  
She kisses him once more with desperate urgency and a searing intensity that he has not felt since her lips last touched his. He knows what she is doing. She is burning a memory into his soul so he will never forget how she feels. _As if that was even possible._  
  
 _It was at this exact moment when Robert wondered why he had to be so damn noble…_  
  
Watching Anna walk away from him felt wrong...


	3. Chapter Three

_“Take them off of her,”_ Robert demanded, as he stood next to Anna’s bed.   
  
“Sir, this is for her own protection,” the nurse stated.   
  
“ _Are you crazy? Have you not heard a word I said since I brought her here? She spent seven years in captivity. Knowing that…you do not get to put restraints on her…even for her own good. Look at her…Can you not see that she is terrified. Take the bloody restraints off now?”_  
  
Nurse April felt her blood run cold when Robert stared at her with eyes as cold as ice; his jaw clenched in simmering rage. She walked to the bed without a sound, untied the restraints to both her hands and legs, and promptly left the room. It was almost frightening how Robert could elicit results with just one bone-chilling look.   
  
_“Anna,”_ he calls as he sits on the edge of the bed. “Please look at me Anna. I’m _not_ going to hurt you.”   
  
His voice sounds so far away as she recoils from his touch. _“No don’t…don’t touch me…please don’t touch me,”_ she cries. He pulls his hand immediately away from her, knowing she is lost in her memories. _Dear God, what happened to his wife? What made her so afraid…even of him?_  
  
“Talk to me Anna…Say my name…”   
  
“ _Robert…_ Robert, is that really you?”   
  
“It’s me Annie…I’m right here. You can trust me. You know that right?”   
  
Her lips tremble when she speaks but she still manages to tell him that she knows he would never hurt her. It reassures him. Just a little. _The thought of her being afraid of him ties him up in knots._ He wants to help her get through this. He wants to be there for her.   
  
“Who did this to you Luv…who took you away from me? You can tell me.”   
  
“But what if you look at me different? I can’t stand the thought that you could ever be _disgusted_ by me.”   
  
“Oh Annie…what did that monster do to you? How could you possibly think that I could ever feel that way about you…I know things are kind of weird between us right now but you _have_ to know how much I _care_ about you…Please tell me you know.”   
  
“You might feel differently once you see…I’m not pretty anymore.”   
  
“Where are you getting your information Luv…You are _breathtakingly_ beautiful. Nothing you could ever show me is going to change that, you hear me. NOTHING.”  
  
He takes her hands into his own, gently massaging them. Anna’s fingers began to regain their feeling as Robert continued to warm them with his own. “Please let me help you Annie. Do not be afraid of me. I would _never_ hurt you.”   
_  
“I know that Robert,”_ she sobs. “ _I know that._ ”   
  
“Then show me…show me what you are so afraid for me to see…Let me prove to you that there is _nothing_ that will make me turn away from you. Come on Luv, it is going to be okay. I promise you it will.”   
  
“When you say it like that,” she admits, “How can I ever not believe you?”   
  
She lets him pull her off the bed and they walk into the hospital bathroom. He locks the door and she sits down on the toilet. He kneels down next to her, pleading with her to remove her hospital gown.   
  
“Are you sure you want to see Robert? I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have.”   
  
“Hey…It’s okay. Regardless of what happens between us romantically, I am still your friend. I still care. Show me?”   
  
“Will you help me?”   
  
“Always,” he says.   
  
Her knees shake when he removes the tie of the gown. There are burns and scratches across her back, and bruises that have turned a deep shade of purple on her thighs. He kisses each one of them. He notices what might be bite marks aligning her arms, and he kisses them too.   
  
“Robert,” she sighs.   
  
“I know. I just want you to know that you are still beautiful. These scars…they are signs that you survived. They are not weaknesses.”  
  
“You still…find me attractive,” she questions.   
  
“So much that I have to remind myself that we are not there right now. I am worried about you Anna. Whatever happened to you for those seven years is still effecting you. Do not fight it okay. Do not _ever_ be afraid to admit that you need someone. You are not going to heal if you do not let yourself feel. “   
  
“It hurts Robert. It hurts so much.”   
  
“Let me take care of you Anna. Just for tonight. Let me help you.”   
  
She does not say a word so he runs her a bath. He can hear the nurse shuffling inside the bedroom so he opens the door slightly.   
  
“I’m giving her a bath. You don’t need to do any more tests do you?”   
  
“No sir. We have all we need.”   
  
“Very Well. I can take it from here. She’s exhausted.”   
  
April does not say anything. The warmth is back in his eyes. If her patient is more comfortable with this man bathing her then who was she to argue. She finishes cleaning up and leaves the room for a second time.   
  
++++  
  
Anna sinks back into the warmth of the soapy water as Robert washes her hair.   
  
“That feels so good, Robert,” she says, as he massages her scalp.   
  
“You relax Luv. You’ve been through far too much for one lifetime.”   
  
He finishes washing her hair and moves to clean the remainder of her body, being careful not to press too hard on all of her wounds…the physical ones anyways. He knows she is not ready to face all that happened to her when she was in captivity but he will be there to listen when she is. He needs to know what happened just as much as she needs to say it.   
  
“Robert,” she says.   
  
“What is it Luv?”   
  
“Thank you…not just for taking care of me but for being here. I’m sorry if I’m keeping you from your wife.”   
  
“That’s the thing Anna…I don’t even know who my wife is anymore…legally.”   
  
“You’ll figure it out Robert…we all will.”   
  
He holds out a towel and she climbs out of the tub. He helps her dry off and hands her a clean hospital gown. He carries her back to the bed and gently brushes her hair.   
  
“You rest now. I’ll be here if you need anything.”   
  
“You should go home now Robert. Holly has to be worried by now.”   
  
“I can’t leave you tonight okay. I need to know that you are going to be okay. Just rest. We’ll figure out where to go in the morning when you have your test results.”   
  
“Robert?”   
  
“Yes Luv.”   
  
“I know I shouldn’t ask but if you insist on staying, can you…can you just hold me. I’m scared to close my eyes.”   
  
“Nothing will ever hurt you again Luv,” he promises, as he climbs in next to her and wraps his arms around her. “Not as long as there is a breath in me.”   
  
As soon as Anna is asleep, he quietly picks up the phone to call Holly.   
  
“I can’t talk right now but I wanted you to know I’m okay. I’ll be home tomorrow.”   
  
_He hates himself for not saying I love you too._  
  
He wants so bad to do the right thing but at the moment he does not know what that is…He does love Holly…There is a part of him who always will…and yet…there is Anna…His Anna…He loved her madly once…he knows he still does…”  
  
“Oh Annie, what am I supposed to do,” he whispers. “Our marriage didn’t end because I stopped loving you. It ended because you died…and now…now there is someone else at home who is waiting for me. I wish I knew what the right thing was…If I had known you were alive, I never would have moved on. Some would say I have not moved on at all. There are still parts of me that I keep hidden from Holly. I guess that is the sad reality…after you, I never could give all of myself. The risk was too much after knowing how it hurt when it ended…And now that I know that Sean set you up to take the fall for being the double agent…It just makes me even more confused. Our last moments together consisted of a lie meant to break us…it ended up costing us seven years. I am sorry Anna. I’m so incredibly sorry.”   
  
Her head is resting on his chest so he turns out the light and closes his eyes. He would have to face the truth tomorrow. Tonight he would just hold her and wish for guidance.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**   
  


_Her head slammed into the watery grave once more, her breathing excruciatingly painful. With every second that passed, her lungs burned, her heart slowed down and every muscle in her ached in desperation. She could see his face even when she felt trapped in a world where there was only darkness and no means for escape.  
_

  
_When she could not breathe, she felt his strength telling her to keep fighting against the current. When she thought for sure that she would rather die than face another form of torture, she would hear his voice telling her how much he loves her. She focused on his handsome face every time her tormentor tried to pull her under…It was the only thing that kept her fighting against almost insurmountable odds.  
  
“Robert,” she cried. “I’m sorry Scorpio. Please…Please do not hate me. I love you so much.”   
  
The man grabbed a handful of her hair and roughly pulled her from the bucket of water.   
  
“Who do you love,” he demanded. She knew what he expected but she refused to give it to him.   
  
“Robert. I am in love with Robert. You hear me Faison. It is Robert. Always Robert.”   
  
She spit in his face in an act of defiance. She knew why she was here. It was not just because the man was insane…It was because she refused to be turned.   
  
“Why must you fight me Anna,” he demanded, brushing his hand against her cheek. She bit him and he responded by slapping her across the face.   
  
“Do you feel like a man now,” she screamed. “You’ll never be a man. You most certainly will never be the man I love. You could never be Robert. You are a monster.”   
  
“You will show some respect,” he retorts, throwing her roughly against the wall. She did not care.   
  
“I will never be your victim. You can do your worst, but I will never be your informant. I will never be your anything.”   
  
“We’ll see about that,” he retorts, as he comes menacingly towards her. _  
  
She jolts up in bed, sweat streaming down her cheeks, her screams deafening.   
  
For a moment, she is unsure where she is and then his arms come around her and he is rubbing her back and telling her that she is safe now.   
  
“You had a nightmare,” he says. “Do you want to talk about it?”   
  
She nods her head so he just holds her. He knows what she was dreaming about and he wants so badly to take her pain away. He knows he can’t.   
  
“I hope you know you can talk to me Luv.”   
  
“I know,” she whispers. “I am just not ready yet.”   
  
“I can accept that,” he says.   
  
They sit in silence for a few more minutes, Anna’s head upon his shoulder. When she stops shaking, she pulls away from him and the doctor walks in.   
  
“How is she,” Robert asks.   
  
“Physically she is going to be okay. Most of her injuries are superficial. It’s the emotional damage that will take some time.”   
  
“What does that mean,” Anna questions.  
  
“You have some symptoms of PTSD. I am going to give you something that will help you feel less anxiety but I need you to promise that you will see someone. I cannot release you if you do not. This is serious. “  
  
 _“Fine,”_ she snaps. “ _If it will get me out of this damn bed, I don’t have much of a choice._ ”   
  
“I’ll go see about those release papers,” the doctor states as he leaves the room.   
  
There is silence after the doctor steps out but then Robert takes her hand into his. “Please don’t fight me on this Luv. I need to know that you are taking care of yourself. I am not going to let you do this by yourself okay. I will be there whenever you need me. “   
  
“Robert I…I can’t okay. I do not have anywhere to go that does not remind me of you. You have another wife…another woman who is counting on you. I understand that but…what about _my_ heart. How am I supposed to do this without you? You have been the center of my world since the first time I laid eyes on you…I just…I need a little time okay. Can you do that? Can you give me a little space to figure out how I am supposed to do this? I have spent seven years in captivity…I am not even sure what being free feels like anymore.”   
  
“I wish I could make this better for you…for us. Would you at least consider coming back with me to Port Charles? The thought that I could get you back after seven long years of thinking you were dead… and then to have you disappear from my life completely…Please don’t do this Anna…don’t shut me out. I might not have any clue what I am going to do about you and Holly but I need you in my life. I need to be able to see you and know that you are safe and alive. If you cannot do it for me then please…do it for yourself. How am I supposed to know what to do about my feelings for you, if you are not around to figure it out with?”   
  
“I’m not even sure what that _means_ Robert.”   
  
“I don’t either okay. I am confused about _so_ many things right now. I just know that I cannot imagine you not being a part of my life in some way. _Please Anna. Don’t go away again.”_  
  
She grasps his hand and wipes the tears away from his face with her thumb. “I could _never_ deny you _anything_. You are my greatest weakness and my greatest strength Robert Scorpio. If you want me to come to Port Charles with you…I can do that. I am just not sure what I can give you beyond that.”   
  
“That is fair. Maybe we can figure it out together.”   
  
“Maybe,” she says. “After you talk to Holly. “   
  
“How am I supposed to make her understand Anna? It was hard enough making _you_ understand.”   
  
“If she loves you as much as _I_ do then she will. If she does not understand then maybe she is not who you are meant to be with. Trust your heart Robert. Its what led you to me and I am sure to Holly. You _know_ that I love you Scorpio. You just have to figure out what's right for _you_."   
  
She kisses his cheek and smiles at him. “Let’s go home Robert. “   
  
He takes her hand in his and together they walk out the door. He does not know what the future holds for them romantically but he does know that what he has dreamed about for seven years finally came true.. _.Anna...His Anna...Is Alive._ Everything else pales in comparison to the relief of knowing that she survived.


	5. Chapter Five

[](https://ibb.co/j1cfzU)   
  


**Chapter Five**

  
  
Anna is thumbing through a small notebook as she sits at a table at Kelly’s diner. It was the only thing she cared about from those seven years she was gone. It helped keep her thoughts in order when Faison was trying to erase everything that mattered to her.   
  
She reads the first entry even as her hands continue to shake. It was written a week into her captivity.   
  


_Dear Robert,  
_

  
_By now, you know that I am ‘dead.’ I tried to protect you my love but everything I did was in vain. Now I am locked in a cold basement without any food or water and no way to know how much time has gone by. I know either you hate me or you are grieving for me, both of which are not options I want for you. Robert, I only wanted to keep you safe. I hope someday I get to tell you that your faith in me is justified. I am not the Double Agent but there are days when I wonder if that even matters anymore. He wants to erase what I feel for you. He tries to tell me every day that you do not matter. Some days he even tries to give me a new name that means nothing to me. Do not worry my love. There is nothing he can do to me that would ever make me forget how much I love you. Someday I am going to get out of here and find a way to make everything right between us again. I memorized your face the last time we made love and that is the picture that I will keep with me until we see each other again. Your love has saved me so many times. It will do it again. Please know how incredibly sorry I am. You do not deserve to suffer this way  
_

_All my love,_

_Your Annie_  
  
A lone tear rolls down her cheek as she pulls out the classifieds. She has to find a job if she ever expects to make a life for herself here. She was not intending to return to the WSB.   
  
++++  
  
Holly is waiting for him when Robert walks in the door. She can see the lines of worry on his face, even as he throws his duffle bag onto the couch.   
  
“We have to talk,” he explains.   
  
He knows this will not be an easy conversation; he also knows that Holly needs to know the truth.   
  
“Is something wrong,” she asks.   
  
He does not know how to answer that so he tells her to have a seat. She tries to reach out to him but he puts some distance between them. There is no way he can get through this if Holly is sitting too close to him.   
  
“I’m not really sure how to tell you this so I am just going to say it. I have another wife.”   
  
He felt the sting of her hand against his cheek but he did not flinch. That did not come out right. He probably deserved it.   
  
_“You son of a bitch,_ ” she yells. “ _What kind of man marries a woman when he already has a wife? What kind of person commits bigamy?”_  
  
He waits her out. He has long since learned that it was the best way of dealing with Holly’s outbursts.   
  
_“A man who thinks his first wife is dead_ ,” he reasons. “Holly, I am _sorry_ but seven years ago, I thought my wife was killed in an explosion. Last night when I went to visit her grave, I found out she was alive.”   
  
“ _That_ is where you have been going all these years…to her _grave_? _Why would you never tell me any of this Robert? Where has she been all these years?”_  
  
“I didn’t tell you because it was a part of my life that I needed to deal with on my own. She was _dead_ Holly. _I did not think it was something that you needed to know_. I was moving on with my life with you. What good would it do to admit that you were not my first wife? I didn’t think I could explain to you the importance of needing to visit her grave every year on our anniversary.”   
  
“Well I think you need to try… Because from where I am standing, you are looking like a _very_ guilty man. Are you still in love with her?”  
  
“Holly I…I love you _both_. I cannot pretend that Anna and I do not still have a connection. I care about her. I always will. “  
  
“And me…how do you feel about me?”   
  
“I…I care about you too.”   
  
“Once upon a time you could tell me you love me. Now it’s ‘I care about you.’ You must have really loved this Anna for you to suddenly be so confused.”  
  
“I did Holly. But I wanted to be honest with you.”   
  
“You didn’t answer my question before…where has she been all these years.”   
  
“I don’t know all the answers but I know someone took her from me…made me believe she was dead…tried to erase her love for me…”   
  
“That sounds pretty out there…You have to know she’s trying to take you for a ride.”   
  
“You don’t _know_ her Holly. Please do not make assumptions about what she has been through in the last seven years. She is suffering. _My God Holly, she’s having nightmares.”_  
  
 _“How would you know she’s having nightmares unless you were with her?”_  
  
Robert looks at his feet and Holly grabs him by the arm. _“What the hell is wrong with you Robert? You let me worry about you for another day so you could stay with your…Oh my God, that is it isn’t it? She is still your wife…”  
_  
“Holly, I’m…”  
  
“ _Go Robert…Just go. If you want her so damn much then get the hell out. “_  
  
“Holly…”  
  
“Just tell me one thing Robert…Did you have sex with her?”  
  
 _“No…No, of course not.”_   
  
“Did you _want_ to?”  
  
When he pauses just a little too long, Holly knows. “ _You want to have sex with another woman and you expect me to understand that? I have forgiven you for so many things Robert… but that…I think you should leave. “_  
  
“Holly, What…”  
  
“What does it mean for our marriage? That depends on _you._ “   
  
Robert does not know what he can say to that. Is it fair for him to go after Anna when he made promises to Holly too? Is it fair for him to stay with Holly when he still thinks about Anna? No matter who he chooses, _somebody_ is going to get hurt.   
  
_“What am I going to do,”_ he wonders, as his phone rings.   
  
“Scorpio,” he says, as he picks up his phone.   
  
“You better get down here right away Commissioner. We just hired the assistant police chief and she’s waiting to meet with you.”   
  
“Can’t this wait until tomorrow,” he asks.   
  
“Afraid not. She says she’s your wife.”   
  
The phone dropped from his hand and hit the floor.   
  
“Commissioner, you there?”   
  
“Sorry I just…”   
  
“Have one wife too many. “  
  
“Shut up. I’m on my way.”  
  
He ended the call and headed for his truck. This was not going to sit well with Holly. _What are you up to Luv?_ , he wonders.


	6. Chapter Six

[](https://ibb.co/j1cfzU)  
  
**Chapter Six**  
  
He feels the beads of sweat stinging his eyes and he wipes them with his shirt. He knows what she would say if she saw him like this and he is not in the mood for another attempt at denial. He knows it would be as empty as his promises. He almost wishes she would yell at him—tell him he is being unreasonable or unfair. It would be far less frightening then the silence.   
  
_“Anna,_ ” he called. She barely even flinched. “Talk to me Luv. You are starting to scare me.”   
  
She turns around then, her mascara running down her cheeks as a sign of her tears. He wants to reach out to her but she is putting distance between them just by the way, she is still hugging herself.   
  
“Did something happen,” he asks her? A quick glance at his desk tells him she had been reading a file that upset her. When she does not move, he walks to the desk and picks it up.   
  
“White Rose,” he whispers. “He’s leaving a calling card.”   
  
The murdered woman in the file could have very easily been mistaken for Anna. He wondered if that was what spooked her.   
  
“Anna, listen to me. I am not going to let anything happen to you again. If that’s what you are worried about…”  
  
“I need your help Robert. You know how much I hate to ask but…”  
  
“You _have_ it. You _know_ you do.”  
  
“I need you to promise me that what we say will stay in this room. “   
  
“You have my word,” he says.   
  
She paces back and forth, as she gathers her thoughts and Robert tries not to rush her, even when her movement is making it very difficult not to worry.   
  
“The man in this picture,” she finally begins, “is the same man who kidnapped me. I was one hundred percent sure that I killed him when I escaped. Obviously, he is not dead. This murder…it is a message to me Robert. He is going to start killing people who have the misfortune of _looking_ like me. His intention is to…”   
  
“Get to _you,_ ” he finishes for her.   
  
“I am _not_ going back there Robert. The things that he did to me…I will _never_ let him do them again. Not to me…not to anyone.”   
  
“What do you need from me,” Robert asks. He would tell her that he would keep her safe and protected if he thought it would have any effect but he knew that Anna did not want him to make promises he could not keep. She could take care of herself. _He failed her once. He would not fail her again._  
  
 _“I need you…Robert I need you.”_  
  
Her voice cracks and he knows that she is struggling to get the words out. He places both hands on her shoulders. “Whatever it is…you _know_ you can count on me. I want to help you Luv. _Please_ let me help you.”   
  
Anna is looking at him now and Robert thinks that as strong as she is, she has never looked more Vulnerable. He touches her cheek and she closes her eyes, her own hand covering his. _He knows she feels the same electric jolt that he just did. He does not know whether he should mention it._  
  
Anna opens her eyes and Robert finds himself captivated by them. Anna’s eyes are seemingly just as mesmerized by his. For a moment, it is as if the entire world has disappeared and all that is left is the two of them. He leans in closer and she knows that the desire was there… _he was going to kiss her. As much as she wants that, she knows that it is the wrong time. She does not want his pity or his comfort…she wants his heart. His love. His Commitment. She wants His Everything._  
  
He steps back in realization and kisses the top of her head. She falls into his embrace as his arms wrap around her. For one moment in time, she feels completely safe.   
  
“Robert, I need…I need you to help me kill him…for real this time.”   
  
He studies her face for signs that she might be kidding but realizes that she would never joke about something that serious. He does not know what scares him more…the fact that he would do it without question or the fact that Anna would ask him to knowing that he would.   
  
In truth, what was the most terrifying, was the fact that Anna was the _only one_ he would ever _willingly_ walk over hot coals for…and he was not sure why. He was the police Commissioner…he risked his life every day… _But never to that degree._ Anna was the _only_ one he would sacrifice his morals for every single time. He already _has_ more than once. He would do it again in a heartbeat.   
  
“Where do we start,” he asks. “You _know_ I would do anything for you. “  
  
“Are you…are you sure you can do this Robert. I _need_ you to be _one hundred percent sure._ I would never force you to do _anything_ you were not comfortable with…No matter how much I…I _need_ you.”   
  
“We _have_ to stop him Anna…The _only_ thing I am _not_ comfortable with is the fact that you _ever_ have to feel afraid. I would do _anything_ to make you feel safe again. You have my word. _We are in this together. Always._ ”   
  
“Th…Thank you,” she states, her voice cracking.   
  
“Don’t mention it, “he replies. “Now let us get to work. Apparently we’re partners.”   
  
She gives him a shy smile, as if to say _‘I hope you are not mad about that,’_ and silently they divide the work. They would not speak of their pact to another soul. _It was something they would take to their grave._


	7. Chapter Seven

 

 **Chapter Seven**  
  
Robert is picking at his food as Holly sits across from him, eating her salad. He knows that she is saying something because every so often he looks up and sees her lips moving. He can feel the moisture under his shirt collar when he looks up just in time to see Anna enter with a man he knows by reputation alone. She is wearing a low cut red dress that leaves very little to the imagination and her dark hair falls loosely at her shoulders. _Just the way he likes it, he thinks.  
_

“Robert, are you even _listening_ to me,” Holly asks. 

He turns his attention back to the woman at his table, even as his fists clench in anger at his side. _He_ was the one who decided that he wanted to _try_ to make his marriage work. Anna had accepted his decision. Called him honorable even. _He did not feel honorable now._

  
“Don’t be ridiculous Holly. Of Course, I am listening. “   
  
“Then what was I saying?”   
  
“I…Uh…”   
  
“ _Just what I thought…You aren’t even paying attention to me…you are too busy staring wistfully at…who is she to you Robert? Oh right…your legal wife.”_  
  
“Holly, I’m sorry.”   
  
“But are you? _You_ are the one who told me that you wanted to try to make our marriage work. Is that _really_ what you want?”   
  
“ _Of course it is._ ”   
  
“I don’t know Robert…I’m _not_ feeling the love tonight…the way you are looking at Anna right now…you _never_ look at _me_ that way…”   
  
_“Holly…”_  
  
“Save it Robert. I do not want to see you right now. Not when you are so damn jealous that you can’t even focus on the woman you already have.”   
  
She stormed angrily out of the room and Robert turned to see Anna and her date looking at him suspiciously. He wipes the sweat from the back of his neck as he stands up, his heart now slamming wildly against his rib-cage.   
  
“ _Excuse us,_ ” Robert growls as he takes Anna by the hand. “ _We need to talk.”_  
  
 _“Robert Stop_ ,” she protests, but she knows her words mean nothing when her body is reacting.   
  
She can feel the fire pumping in her veins as he leads her towards the docks. Why did the thought of him reacting this way to her date excite her?   
  
“ _What are you doing with that…that no good piece of slime…are you trying to get yourself killed Anna?”  
_  
“ _Maybe I just wanted you to pay attention,”_ she snapped. Her hand immediately covered her mouth in embarrassment. She did not mean to say that aloud…especially not to him.  
  
Robert takes a step forward, willing her to look at him. “Say that again Anna,” he whispers.   
  
“Why? Does it make you _happy_ to know that you _still_ make me weak in the knees? “   
  
“Were you _trying_ to make me Jealous Devane?”   
  
“Oh My God Scorpio…Could your ego be any bigger?”   
  
“ _Were you_ ,” he asks again?  
  
His sweaty palms grip her waist as he pulls her tightly against him. She looks up at him with so much vulnerability that he almost feels guilty for asking. _Almost._  
  
“Maybe I was,” she admits hoarsely. “Maybe I just wanted you to look at me like you used to just for a moment. I _know_ that it is wrong… _God knows I do_ …I just…”   
  
He took her face into his hands then…brushing his thumb across her jawline.   
  
“Why are you crying,” she asked him. Robert was many things to her over the years but she rarely saw him cry. He was too proud for that.   
  
“I’m so sorry Anna…I wish that time was on our side. I wish that I had waited. I wish so many things.”   
  
“Tell me,” she urges. “Tell me what you wish most of all?”  
  
He pauses as he looks into her dark brown eyes. It was wrong for him to be thinking about kissing her when he just promised Holly that he wanted to work on their marriage. _What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he stay away from her?  
_  
“I feel like a horrible person Annie…Maybe I am…”   
_  
“Impossible,_ ” she promises him. ”You are just a good man in an unthinkable situation. I do not blame you Robert. How could I when you were just a man trying to survive.”   
  
“I didn't survive though. I was miserable without you.Will you dance with me one more time? Please Annie. Just one more time. I need to find a way to let you go. “   
  
She did not dare tell him that she wished that he would choose her…It was not her choice to make.   
  
“Of Course I will dance with you,” she says. There was no music playing in their special place on the docks but they did not need any. He held her close as they swayed along the pavement. She stroked his cheek with her thumb when it started to rain.   
  
“If there ever comes a time when we can be together, I hope you know that you will _still_ be welcomed.”   
  
“I can’t ask you to wait Anna…”   
  
“You didn’t…I’m just telling you what is. I love you Robert Scorpio. I always have and I always will. I waited seven years to find you again and I can wait as long as it takes for you to realize that we belong together. My heart will always be your home.”   
  
“ _Oh Annie_ ,” he sighs. He didn't tell her that he still loves her too. It would not be right since he was trying to let her go. _What kind of love did they have if this amazing woman was willing to wait for him? How could he let her?_  
  
He runs his fingers through her wet hair and for a few minutes, they just look at each other. Neither of them could explain the gravity of what happened next…How one minute they were saying goodbye and the next he was backing her up against a wall as her legs wrapped around his torso. He kissed her once with trepidation but in the next second, his tongue was in her mouth and the kisses grew in intensity. If she were a better woman, she would pull away now. She would tell him to go home to the wife he had chosen. _Except tonight, the last thing she was was a better woman._ Tonight she was simply Robert’s Anna. _No More and no less._


	8. Chapter Eight

 

 **Chapter Eight**  
  
Beer bottles shatter as Robert kicks them on his way into one of the shipment rooms on the far side of the docks. Anna’s legs continue to lock around his torso as his tongue plunges deeper into her mouth. He sits her on top of the crate and she yanks his belt from his pants with an urgency he has not seen since they were married.   
  
His pants now bunched at his feet, he arches his hips and pulls her into his lap, as his boxers fall to the ground.   
  
_“Robert,_ ” she moans, as his mouth finds hers once more. She can feel his expert hands slide down her thigh and soon remove her red silk panties.   
  
_“Oh Annie,_ he cries as he kisses her hair, his fingers now sliding her dress down. With quick work of her fingers, she removes the last barrier of clothing and he pulls her up from the crate, their naked bodies now crashing against another wall.   
  
As Anna’s hands lift above her head, Robert’s own fingers link with hers as he pulls her further into his arms. Her lips still taste of saltwater from the rain, and he can hear the rapid beating of her heart as it catches up to his. They had long passed the point of no return.   
  
_“I need you Robert_ ” she pants, her forehead against his. “ _God, how I need you.”_  
  
 _That had always been what did him in…hearing her call his name in passion…telling him how much she needed him._  
  
 _“Oh God Annie,_ ” he moans. _“God you take my breath away.”_  
  
Anna’s nails dig into his skin as he plunges deep within her…her screams of pleasure buried in his shoulder. As the rain continued to drown out the world, Robert and Anna continued to plunge so deep inside each other that neither of them knew where he ended and she began.   
  
++++  
  
They did not speak of what happened between them when Anna walked into the police station the next day, or the day after. Now it was a week later and they still did not speak of it. He wanted to tell her that he could not stop thinking of her but he knew it would go against the promise they made each other to forget that it ever happened. _It was for the best. They just got caught up in the moment._  
  
Holly had asked him why he was being so distant if he wanted to work things out; he was not sure how to answer that. _He told himself a million times that he was doing the right thing. That loving Anna had cost him too much in the past. It was true but it did not make him love her any less either._  
  
“Robert?”   
  
He looks up from his desk, immediately brought out of his daydreams by Anna’s voice.   
  
“Good Morning Luv.”   
  
He hands her a cup of coffee and she sits in the seat across from her. _She wishes she could tell him that it does not hurt to watch him love another woman. She wishes she knew what any of this meant._  
  
“Are you angry with me,” she asks him.   
  
“Of course not. Why would you ask that?”   
  
“Well you haven’t exactly been speaking to me lately.”   
  
“I haven’t been sleeping very well. I’m sorry.”   
  
She smiles at him. _She knows why he has not been sleeping. She has not been sleeping either. She would not tell him that though.  
_  
“So we’re good, “she asks him? “Still Friends?”   
  
“Always,” he answers.   
  
_She would not ask him why he did not file divorce papers if he wanted to work things out with Holly…She was still hoping he would change his mind._  
  
“Good…we really need to start figuring out how we are going to find Faison. None of us will be able to move on if he is still out there. I am scared Robert. If he finds out where I am, he’s going to kill me or worse.”   
  
“I am _not_ letting him take you away from me again Anna. You will just have to stay with me until we can find him and deal with him.”   
  
“ _Oh Really? And just when did you plan on discussing this with your other wife,_ ” Holly snaps, as she walks inside.   
  
“Holly, I’m…I’m sorry. “   
  
“You have been saying that _a lot_ lately.”   
  
“I _mean_ it. _I am trying to stop a very dangerous man here. I cannot leave Anna Vulnerable again. I would never be able to live with myself.”  
_  
“Robert, you don’t…you don’t have to do this,” Anna states.   
  
_“And what happens if he knows where you are…we don’t know what we are dealing with. This is not up for negotiation. We have plenty of room at the house.”  
  
“Like your bed right,” _Holly retorts.   
  
_“Holly.”_  
  
 _“You know what…forget it_. I came here to ask you to lunch but I am no longer in the mood. _Do what you want. You always do anyways.”_  
  
After Holly storms out, Anna puts a hand on Robert’s shoulder.   
  
“I’m sorry Robert. I’m ruining your life again.”   
  
_“Don’t say that okay._ This is _my_ fault. _I cannot seem to do anything right in her eyes. I am a terrible husband._ She is right of course. I just do not know what to do anymore. The worst part is that I am hurting you too. I am trying Anna. It just seems like no matter what I do, it is going to hurt someone. Maybe Holly is right. Maybe I really _am_ a terrible person. Maybe I don’t deserve _either_ of you.”   
  
Anna watches him walk away and she knows that he is torturing himself with what he perceives as his shortcomings. As much as she hates that he did not immediately choose her, she understands his decision. The fact that Holly makes him feel ashamed for it makes her angry.   
  
“ _Don’t you dare do this to yourself Robert…You are a wonderful man. If Holly cannot see that then she is the one who does not deserve you. I know she is hurting too but…Robert you are not superman. You cannot fix everything for everyone. You deserve to be happy. Forget about Holly. Forget about me. You need to do what makes you happy. You are not a bad person. You are just a man. The greatest man I have ever known.”  
_  
“Anna…”   
  
“It’s okay Robert…I’m here if you need me. Take some time to let this all sink in. We will talk about Faison more tomorrow. I _need_ you at your full capacity when we do.”   
  
She kisses his cheek and walks back to her office.   
  
She would be there for him…but she would not ask him to choose her. He needed to do that on his own…in his own time. _She did not want him by default._


End file.
